Top Items:
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Pence: The United States is ready to talk with North Korea — Despite the mutual chilliness between U.S. and North Korean officials in South Korea last week, behind the scenes real progress was made toward a new diplomatic opening that could result in direct talks without preconditions between Washington and Pyongyang.
Discussion:
CNN, Business Insider, CNBC, NBC News, The Daily Caller and The Week
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New York Times:
Kim Jong-un's Sister Turns on the Charm, Taking Pence's Spotlight — PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — When the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, decided to send a large delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea this month, the world feared he might steal the show.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, TheBlaze, NewsBusters, Mediaite, The Korea Times and The Guardian
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Twisted: Trump says Porter sick, guilty; defends him publicly — President Trump is defending Rob Porter even though, privately, he says he's guilty. — Behind closed doors: The president has told multiple people that he believes the accusations about Porter, and finds him “sick.”
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Los Angeles Times:
Fate of Trump's chief of staff hangs in balance as White House weathers fallout from spouse abuse scandal … President Trump, who has pushed out a string of senior aides since taking office, is upset with Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and would like to replace him, but Republican congressional leaders …
Axios:
Trump's real plan for 2018 — President Trump today will unveil a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan that his own aides don't think will pass, and a $4 trillion budget that Axios' Jonathan Swan calls “science fiction.” — It's the strangest of year-ahead plans for a party that controls …
New York Times:
Abuse Case Exposes Fissures in a White House in Turmoil
Abuse Case Exposes Fissures in a White House in Turmoil
Discussion:
Political Wire, AOL and New York Magazine
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
White House can't gets its story straight on Rob Porter exit
White House can't gets its story straight on Rob Porter exit
Discussion:
The Week, Splinter, Shareblue Media and AOL
Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:
Principles, Schminciples - Lynch Mobs Are Cool If They Derail Trump
Principles, Schminciples - Lynch Mobs Are Cool If They Derail Trump
Discussion:
CNN, Women in the World, ABC News, RedState and CBS New York
Damian Paletta / Washington Post:
In big reversal, new Trump budget will give up on longtime Republican goal of eliminating deficit … President Trump on Monday will offer a budget plan that falls far short of eliminating the government's deficit over 10 years, conceding that huge tax cuts and new spending increases …
Discussion:
The Week and Political Wire
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Washington Post:
Trump plan will drop GOP's traditional goal of balancing budget within 10 years … President Trump is remaking the Republican economic playbook in his own image, abandoning ideological consistency in favor of a debt-busting strategy that will upend how Washington taxes and spends trillions of dollars each year.
Jennifer Scholtes / Politico:
Trump to demand tough budget cuts for domestic programs
Trump to demand tough budget cuts for domestic programs
Discussion:
TheBlaze
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
He Predicted The 2016 Fake News Crisis. Now He's Worried About An Information Apocalypse. — In mid-2016, Aviv Ovadya realized there was something fundamentally wrong with the internet — so wrong that he abandoned his work and sounded an alarm. A few weeks before the 2016 election …
Discussion:
Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
Burgess Everett / Politico:
McConnell's immigration gamble — Mitch McConnell is taking the reins of an immigration debate that may prompt a fix for “Dreamers” — or quickly spiral out of control. — Usually careful with his every move, the Senate majority leader is taking a gamble this week with his pledge for a free …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and ImmigrationProf Blog
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Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
First-class travel distinguishes Scott Pruitt's EPA tenure … Just days after helping orchestrate the United States' exit from a global climate accord last June, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt embarked on a whirlwind tour aimed at championing President Trump's agenda at home and abroad.
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Daniel Lippman / Politico:
PLAYBOOK SCOOP: PELOSI pulls in nearly 50 million bucks for House Dems in 2017 — EXCERPTS from 'DEVIL'S BARGAIN' paperback edition ... BANNON says OPRAH could win Democrats the House back — BUDGET DAY — By JAKE SHERMAN (sherman@politico.com; @JakeSherman), ANNA PALMER (anna@politico.com …
Discussion:
The Week and New York Times
Washington Post:
Trump takes ‘shackles’ off ICE, which is slapping them on immigrants who thought they were safe … A week after he won the election, President Trump promised that his administration would round up millions of immigrant gang members and drug dealers. And after he took office …
Tommy Christopher / Shareblue Media:
GOP candidate and Trump ally faces global backlash for racist attack on Meghan Markle — Republican congressional candidate Paul Nehlen's response to the denouncement was just as repugnant as his hateful tweet. — Congressional candidate and prominent Trump supporter Paul Nehlen (R-WI) …
Discussion:
The Guardian
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Unilever Threatens to Reduce Ad Spending on Tech Platforms That Don't Combat Divisive Content — CMO Keith Weed says the company will only invest in platforms ‘committed to creating a positive impact in society’ — Unilever UL -.68% PLC is threatening to pull back its advertising …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, The Guardian and The Week
Russell Mokhiber / Common Dreams:
Woman Dragged Out of West Virginia House Hearing For Listing Oil and Gas Contributions to Members — “The people who are going to be speaking in favor of this bill are all going to be paid by the industry.” — Lissa Lucas traveled the 100 miles from her home in Cairo …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Nancy Cook / Politico:
The mysterious oppo researcher working in the White House lawyer's office — Michael Roman, best known as a shadowy operative who oversaw a research unit for the Koch network, now occupies an unusual and undefined role in the Trump administration. — Few people in or close to the White House …
Discussion:
The Week